After hearing reports of behavior at candidate events that was either a security risk or an embarrassment, Polk County GOP officials have asked a private security firm to provide protection during a Michele Bachmann speech tomorrow night.

While Gingrich was at an event in Orange City on Saturday, an Iowan posted a Twitter message that said: “Just had a pistol in hand n [sic] Newt Gingrich was 20 yards away.”

And when Gingrich paused a 17-city Iowa campaign tour to do a book signing in Minneapolis last week, a prankster dumped a box of glitter confetti on the presidential candidate.

“We didn’t want what happened to Newt to happen to Michele,” said McLaughlin, whose group organized the fundraising dinner in downtown Des Moines. “If we allow some nitwit to come in and dump water on her, that’s the story, and the voters and the taxpayers are cheated because they don’t hear her message.”

County GOP officials decided to appoint a security adviser. Tom Conley, a frequent Republican contributor and president and chief executive of the Conley Group, agreed to provide security for Polk County Republican events during the caucus season for free.

Security protection is needed more and more in today’s political world, Conley said, “but most of the security under my watch, you won’t see. It will be transparent.”

If security guards are posted more frequently, could it change the tenor of Iowa caucus events, which are famously low-key meet-and-greets where all are welcome?

McLaughlin said beefed-up security is necessary.

“Republicans have a reputation for taking things away from people,” he said. “We’re going to cut spending, and someone’s benefit or someone’s program or someone’s job is going to be lost and that frightens people. You never know amongst a group like that who is going to want to get even.”

He added that Republicans’ government cost-cutting goals are sometimes misunderstood.

“We’re trying to eliminate fraud and waste and push money back into people’s hands,” he said.

Whether the man in Orange City actually had a gun isn’t clear from his Twitter messages, but they indicate he was working at the booth where Gingrich purchased a brat at the Tulip Festival on Saturday.

The man’s Twitter profile says he’s from Cedar Falls. He later posted: “Just shook Newt Gingrich’s hand and served him a brat #damnitsgoodtobeme.”

Polk County GOP officials said they know of no specific threat against Bachmann tomorrow, and her campaign didn’t request security.

But Bachmann is well known for whipping up emotions. Iowa City protesters interrupted Bachmann during a speech in April.

In a telephone interview today, Bachmann told the Register she has never felt unsafe while addressing Iowans.

Presidential candidates in Iowa generally haven’t needed special protection early in the caucus season, but there have been exceptions.

Democrat Barack Obama sought Secret Service protection in May 2007. Democrat Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, that same year had a Secret Service detail. Democrat Jesse Jackson had early protection in 1984 and again in 1988, according to the Miami Herald.

There have been a few security hiccups.

In July 2007, Secret Service agents questioned and Ottumwa police arrested Davit Zakaryan, an Armenian native who was found to have a knife longer than 8 inches outside of Obama’s hotel. Ottumwa police said later he was never considered a threat. Zakaryan pleaded guilty of a lesser charge of interfering with official acts.

In November 2007, a man wearing what appeared to be a bomb walked into a Clinton campaign office in New Hampshire and demanded to speak about mental health care. The event ended without injury when the man surrendered to police after nearly six hours.